Network - Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel

Network
retail
merchandising
SUMMER 2009
KEEPING THE CUSTOMER
IN MIND
by Suzy Frisch
Kim Johnson, Ph.D., leads the retail merchandising
program the way successful retailers would—by
keeping the customer in mind. For Johnson, that
customer is the student who needs a strong
background in all aspects of retailing before graduation.
So when the Department of Design, Housing, and
Apparel became part of the new College of Design
three years ago, Johnson took the opportunity to
strengthen the retail program.
Welcome to Network, a newsletter
to bring you up to date on the retail
merchandising program, a quick
view of key faculty, interviews
with just-graduated students and
graduate students. You’ll get a great
view of what we are all about—now!
Please send your email address to
[email protected] for future issues!
Johnson worked with colleagues at the University
of Minnesota and other schools, as well as retail
professionals, to determine the most useful coursework
for students. The result is a program where students
KIM JOHNSON
develop both their design and retail business skills, an
unusual combination. Many schools offer retail business degrees and others offer the
design aspect, but bringing the two together has made Minnesota a singular destination
for aspiring retail professionals.
“The key is to understand how design impacts the bottom line,” Johnson said. “Retailing
is business and our students get a solid grounding in business. But we are also in the
College of Design and we capitalize on the opportunity for students to understand how
good design makes for a successful business.”
All retail merchandising majors are given opportunities both theoretical and hands-on,
to understand the concepts, theories, and value of design. Majors in both the apparel
and non-apparel tracks are required to take a core series of design courses to help
them develop a critical eye and their own creativity. Faculty members work with area
businesses to provide students with real-world experience. Some examples include
designing store windows for retailers located in Calhoun Square (an upscale retail
complex in Minneapolis) and in-store displays for local toy store Creative Kidstuff.
Students must draw on their own creativity, as well as their understanding of consumer
motivation and the principles of good business, to create the final product.
Retail merchandising students also have the opportunity to learn
and travel. Recent study trip destinations include New York,
London, Paris, Toronto, and Seoul. Writing is emphasized across
the curriculum. Students synthesize their design coursework
with several core business courses to ensure their complete
preparation for future careers. Because the program is located
in Minnesota, a major retailing market with several large retail
companies headquartered here, students have a wealth of
internship opportunities as well.
With a variety of products to offer through courses, internships, and
study abroad, the retail merchandising program is very appealing
to prospective students—and they are the ultimate customers for
Kim Johnson and her colleagues.
RETAIL MERCHANDISING STUDENTS, NEW YORK CITY
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RETAIL’S ROLE IN
SUSTAINABILITY
by Judy Arginteanu
Hye-Young Kim joined DHA’s retail
merchandising program in August 2008,
but it hasn’t taken her long to make her
contribution to CDes’ focus on sustainability.
Young, a faculty member at Washington
State University before coming to the
University of Minnesota, has published
widely, with particular emphasis on
consumer loyalty. Now she is applying
that expertise to the growing trend of
sustainable retailing. It’s a many-layered
trend; like the more general notion of
sustainability, sustainable retailing is a
term that can be fluid at best. Often, it’s
used to imply that the effort in question
is “environmentally friendly”—from selling
organic cotton products to managing
online bill payment systems to save paper.
But, asks Kim, if the organic cotton shirt is
made in a highly polluting factory, does it
still count as “eco-friendly”?
Moreover, some proponents are pushing
the definition even further. “Right now,
some industry experts and researchers
suggest the framework for sustainable
retailing should be extended by embracing
more social and economic impacts,” Kim
noted. For example, she says, suppose
you have a shirt made of organic cotton
from a low-emissions factory, but it was
produced in a sweatshop. Should it then
be called “sustainable”? “It’s a complicated
issue, and we need to look at it as a whole,
not in a fragmented manner,” she said.
She plans to design a research project
about consumers’ perceptions and
responses to retailers’ green efforts,
seeking to identify what factors help or
hinder the decision to buy green products
in a store setting.
Again, it’s not a simple issue: “While many
consumers care about the environment,
they consider other factors when buying
products. For example, most consumers
do not buy clothing just because it’s
environmentally friendly.” Retailers
may have to confront consumer beliefs
that organic clothing products are, for
example, very expensive or less colorful
or less stylish.
And while consumers increasingly seek to
be good eco-citizens, she said it’s up to
retailers to make such opportunities easier
and more available.
Kim also wants to generate useful ideas
on how retailers can influence changes in
production processes and consumption
patterns and exert pressure on
manufacturers in favor of “truly sustainable”
consumer choices. She hopes to publish
the results in industry journals, but is
also considering outreach activities for
consumer education, for example, how to
find information about green retailers, and
possibly disseminating the information to
policy makers.
HYE-YOUNG KIM
Kim sees her work in the retail
merchandising program as an important
facet of the College of Design’s overall
focus on sustainability. She’s also
delighted to be in the Twin Cities, both
professionally and personally. “The Twin
Cities are an ideal environment to observe
the retail industry,” she says, noting that
national retailers Target and Best Buy,
both headquartered here, are involved in
sustainability efforts. Between the cities
and her work at the University, “it’s a
perfect match for what I’m doing.”
SCHOLARSHIPS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The Retail Merchandising program is
focused on creating privately-funded
scholarships to help students meet the
rising costs of higher education. The
University is offering a rare opportunity
to double the impact of gifts through
the Promise of Tomorrow Scholarship
drive. Gifts of $25,000 or more are
RETAIL MERCHANDISING SUMMER 2009
used to create an endowment fund at the
University of Minnesota Foundation and
the payout from the fund is matched by the
University thereby doubling the impact of
the gift. A group of retail merchandising
alumni is currently meeting to lay a plan for
developing at least one of these matching
scholarships. Alumni and friends can help
by making gifts directed to scholarships
for retail merchandising students that can
then be added to this endowment.
For more information, contact Sue
Danielson Bretheim at 612-624-1386, or
visit the U of M Foundation’s website at:
www.giving.umn.edu.
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SHOPPERS INFLUENCED
BY EMPLOYEE’S DRESS
by Suzy Frisch
Retailers take note: it matters a lot to
shoppers what your employees wear
and how they present themselves. It can
even go so far as to shape consumers’
perceptions of a store and the credibility
of its sales staff. New emerging research
found that more than 80 percent of
shoppers experienced feelings while in
a store and their perceptions of a store
were connected to sales associates’
appearance, including clothes,
accessories, and grooming.
Apparel Ph.D. students Jae-Eun Kim
and Hae-Won Ju teamed with Professor
Kim Johnson on the study, “Sales
Associate’s Appearance: Links to
Consumers’ Emotions, Store Image,
and Purchases.” Their article has been
published in the Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services.
In their survey, the team polled 62 students
about their experiences and reactions right
after they shopped for clothing, shoes, or
accessories in a specialty or department
store. They asked open-ended questions
about their positive and negative emotions,
opinions of the store’s image, and their
purchasing behavior.
For 82 percent of participants, aspects
of a sales associate’s appearance
influenced their perception of the store’s
image. In addition, 29 percent reported
that they made purchasing decisions
HAE-WON JU & JAE-EUN KIM
based on an employee’s appearance,
noting especially if the salesperson wore
the store’s merchandise.
sales associates’ appearance and a lot on
the sales environment,” saids Kim. “That’s
why I got interested in this topic.”
These findings have broad implications
for retailers, who may want to consider
insisting that employees wear their
merchandise. “Requiring associates
to wear a store’s merchandise is an
effective strategy, so retailers need
to consider the store’s image when
they influence the dress code for
sales associates,” Kim said. Added Ju,
“Retailers need to have some dialogue
with their employees concerning the
details of their dress and nonverbal cues
such as facial expressions.”
Some of the most compelling findings
for Ju and Kim were how much the
looks of sales associates swayed
consumers. “I was surprised that 80
percent of participants mentioned that
positive emotions were generated by
a sales associate’s appearance,” notes
Kim. “Another interesting part related to
fit, because the consumer really regarded
the fit between the store image and sales
associate’s image as very important.”
Kim and Ju, both natives of South Korea,
were students in Johnson’s course about
the behavioral aspects of dress when
they devised their research topic for a
class project. “Through a review process
we found that there is limited research on
Ju and Kim plan to continue researching
how salesperson characteristics,
including appearance, interaction
quality, and perceived sales associate
power, influence shoppers’ perceptions
of employees’ credibility, and whether
perceived credibility influences
consumers’ satisfaction.
WHAT IF… TOUCH WERE USED TO CATEGORIZE PRODUCTS AND STORES?
Shoppers see, smell, and hear things in a store; they also touch
them before they make a purchase decision. Touch gives a
particular advantage to brick-and-mortal stores over online and
RETAIL MERCHANDISING SUMMER 2009
mobile venues. If touch sensations were emphasized in retailing,
shoppers could be guided by their touch sensations in the
search for new products.
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GALLAGHER DISCOVERS OPPORTUNITIES
IN RETAIL MERCHANDISING PROGRAM
by Lori-Anne Williams
Natalie Gallagher didn’t take it easy
this summer.
A senior who will graduate in 2010 with
dual degrees from the College of Design
(retail merchandising) and the College of
Liberal Arts (art), Gallagher held a job at
J Crew, a summer internship with VIRTEx
(a program of the University’s Department
of Psychology), and completed a University
Research Opportunity Program (UROP)
project entitled “Mother Daughter
Identity Talk: Influences on Appearance
Management Behaviors.” Driving Gallagher
is an insatiable curiosity about consumer
behavior and an unabashed enthusiasm
for the retail merchandising program.
“When I started the program, I thought
my career choices were to be a buyer
or a manager,” she says of the retail
merchandising program, “but I found so
much more.” Gallagher was especially
challenged by product development
classes, where she learned how many roles
there are in rolling out a new design line.
(Students in the class have the opportunity
to present their ideas to executives as
Target.) Gallagher now hopes to work in
retail, eventually returning to school to get
her Ph.D. and pursue a career in research
and teaching.
Gallagher encourages other retail
merchandising students to make the
most of their degree. “There are a lot of
opportunities you just don’t see at first
glance,” she said. One such opportunity for
Gallagher was a chance to represent the
University at the American Collegiate Retail
Association’s 3rd Annual Charette at the
University of Florida last spring. During the
charette, Gallagher had the opportunity to
work with a team of students from across
the country to prepare a presentation for
Ron John’s Surf Shop, a national retail
chain. “We didn’t sleep for three days.
It was hugely competitive,” reported
NATALIE GALLAGHER
Gallagher, “but the level and caliber of
work was incredible.” She worked with
student designers and presented plans
for a new Ron Johns store—including
business strategy, merchandise placement,
and budget information—to the chain’s
CEO and CFO.
Gallagher credits her professors with
pointing out opportunities such as the
UROP and attending the charette. She
encourages other students to take the
extra step. “Talk to upper-class students,”
she advises, “and get to know your
professors. It sounds like old-fashioned
advice, but it is so important.”
AMERICAN COLLEGIATE RETAIL ASSOCIATION’S CHARETTE
RETAIL MERCHANDISING SUMMER 2009
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EXPERIENTIAL RETAILING GOAL?
KEEP YOU SHOPPING!
by Lori-Anne Williams
New faculty member
Juanjuan Wu exudes
enthusiasm for her work
in retail merchandising.
Raised in China, Wu
received her M.A. from
Donghua University in
Shanghai. She became
a fashion journalist
and editor, working
for Metropolis, one
JUANJUAN
of the hottest fashion
magazines in China, and also wrote for
many other popular fashion magazines
and national newspapers, such as
Shanghai Style, Fashion, China Fashion
Weekly, and Shanghai Fashion Times.
She later became marketing director for
5th Street Jeans, promoting the product
to the media and developing brand
marketing plans and strategies.
After completing her Ph.D. in aesthetics
and marketing at the University of
Minnesota, she taught for three years
at SUNY Oneonta, then joined the retail
merchandising faculty at the U of M in
fall 2008. Wu’s research focuses on
mass-customization, textural properties
(how touch influences buying), and the
shopping experience.
“My background is in marketing, where a
decade ago we focused on the user of
the merchandise, not particularly on the
shopper or the shopping experience,”
said Wu. “Now the focus is on creating
a holistic environment for the shopper.
Merchandising has become just as
important as marketing, if not more so.”
WU
GO RED FOR WOMEN STOREFRONT, UPTOWN
In experiential retailing, the focus is the
experience of the shopper—assuming that
a comfortable and engaged shopper will
stay in the store for a longer period of time
and make more visits and bigger purchases.
Wu explains that the way a store is laid
out, and the way merchandise is displayed
alter the way a shopper perceives his or
her experience. “Small adjustments make
a big difference,” said Wu, explaining that
vertical displays engage the shopper in
one place, whereas horizontal displays—
which ask the customer to move along the
display to take it all in—are less effective.
“The change in retailing is really about a
change in lifestyle and human behavior,”
said Wu. Merchandising used to be
targeted to women who probably didn’t
work outside the home, and who had
time to shop. Now the clock is ticking for
shoppers, who want to get in, get what’s
on their list, and get out. Experiential
retailers such as Ikea strive to provide
thought-out complete solutions for these
busy shoppers. They also try to offer
simple solutions to complex shopping
problems (Saturn’s “no haggle no hassle”
policy is an example). Some retailers go
out of their way to create an amazing
experience—such as REI’s climbing wall.
In today’s retail environment, the store
itself is as important as the merchandise
inside. Juanjuan Wu is studying the trend.
“The goal is to create an experience
which is personal, enjoyable, inspiring,
stimulating, and memorable, as an added
value to the merchandise shoppers
purchase and the service they receive,” Wu
noted. “The goal is to keep you shopping.”
WHAT IF… ANYONE COULD DESIGN THEIR WARDROBE ONLINE?”
Individual consumers are currently able to configure or co-design
various products, including computers, cars, running shoes,
T-shirts, etc., to meet their specific functional or aesthetic needs.
RETAIL MERCHANDISING SUMMER 2009
Advancements in agile manufacturing processes, and information
and retailing technology may enable anyone to design their
entire wardrobe in the near future at an affordable price.
5
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CELEBRATING DR. GLORIA WILLIAMS
by Char Klarquist
The department and college recently
celebrated the career and retirement of
Dr. Gloria Williams, who has contributed
to the outreach, research, and teaching
missions of the University of Minnesota
for more than three decades. Williams’
research interests remain firmly founded
in the interdisciplinary field of home
economics, including how knowledge
in a discipline or field of study is
structured; the relationship between
conceptualization, theory-building, and
varied research methods; and social
change in the arena of practice. Her
post-retirement plans include writing two
books: The History of Clothing Studies
in Higher Education and A Handbook of
Clothing Studies.
GLORIA WILLIAMS
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and
employer.
This publication/material is available in alternative formats upon request.
Direct requests to Kathy Guiney, [email protected], 612-624-1240.
Retail Merchandising: retail.design.umn.edu
Printed on recycled and recyclable paper with at least 100 percent
postconsumer fiber, processed chlorine free, FSC recycled certified and
manufactured using biogas energy.
RETAIL MERCHANDISING SUMMER 2009
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